Personal Injury Lawyers explain how compensation is calculated in a personal injury claim. No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers, Brisbane & Gold Coast.
No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers are often asked this question when taking enquiries about personal injury claims. And understandably so. If you’re considering whether you’ll take legal action by way of a personal injury claim, then you’ll want to know how much compensation you are looking at achieving in taking that step. You need to know it will be a worthwhile process.
Calculating Personal Injury Claim Compensation Amounts
It is just not possible for a personal injury lawyer to tell you point blank, you’ll receive so much compensation for your personal injury claim, just by the injury you have sustained. There are numerous variables to be considered. No one personal injury claim is exactly like another, because each of these variables will be different for each individual claimant.
The major variables to be considered when calculating personal injury compensation amounts are:
- Age;
- Occupation;
- Previous medical conditions & injuries;
- Earnings and work history;
- Extent of the injury being claimed for and how much it impacts upon pre-existing lifestyle, functioning and employment;
- Interests, hobbies, sporting & recreational activities prior to sustaining the injury;
- Domestic arrangements both prior to and following the injury being claimed for.
What Compensation can You Claim for In a Personal Injury Claim?
These variables affect the various heads of damage you can claim for at Common Law in a personal injury claim. “Heads of damage” are the different types of loss and damage you can seek payment for when claiming personal injury compensation. These heads of damage include:
- Pain & suffering and loss of amenities of life;
- Loss of past & future income (wages or profits where self-employed), also called “economic loss”;
- Loss of past & future superannuation benefits;
- Past & future medical expenses and out of pocket expenses (eg. medical treatment, medications, alternate therapies, medical aids, counselling, home & vehicle modifications, travel costs etc.);
- Costs of care & assistance with personal care & domestic, vehicle, home & yard maintenance;
- Interest on past medical expenses & out of pocket expenses, care & lost income.
In a personal injury claim, compensation amounts are awarded for each of these heads of damage. These compensation amounts are then added together to give you the total value of your claim. This is called the “quantum” of your claim.
Some Heads of Damage are Restricted by Legislation
Certain of these heads of damage are restricted by specific legislation. The Civil Liability Act 2003 restricts what can be claimed for care & assistance (thresholds apply), interest and pain & suffering. These restrictions apply to all personal injury claims in Queensland that are not work injury claims.
However, work injury claims are restricted by different legislation, namely the Workers’ Compensation & Rehabilitation Act 2003. This legislation regulates claims for pain & suffering and interest, and places quite significant restrictions on care claims.
Notably, in certain cases restrictions on personal injury claims under the Civil Liability Act 2003 will not apply. This is important, as in such case, full unfettered Common Law damages can be claimed. This can mean quite a large increase in compensation entitlements.
It’s Important You’re Advised by Expert Personal Injury Lawyers
Because of the complex nature of personal injury law, it is very important that you seek the advice of experienced and expert personal injury lawyers. The difference in your compensation payout can be significant when you have the benefit of expertise gleaned from long years of claims experience.
No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers have a Senior Personal Injury Lawyer available to assist you with your personal injury claim enquiries 24/7. So, if you’ve been injured, whether from a car accident, work incident, medical mistake or due to the fault of another, call us today on 1300 388 383, or Chat with us online. You can also send us your case details by way of our FREE Instant Case Appraisal forms. All enquiries however made, are FREE, totally confidential and there’s no obligation.
If you’d like to learn more about No Win No Fee Personal Injury Lawyers and the services we provide, you may be interested in our “About Us” or “Why Us” pages.